Police say a man would have died in his burning vehicle last night had two passers-by not come upon the scene.
The men were travelling along bushy Ahu Ahu Rd, near Lucy's Gully, southwest of New Plymouth, about 5.30pm when they spotted a car ablaze on the road.
They were able to quickly pull a man to safety, Sergeant Ross Wright of New Plymouth Police told Fairfax.
"Had they not done that he would be dead," Wright said.
